Revelation 11: 3 – 19
The Two Witnesses
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. 7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. 11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly. 15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One Who Is and Who was and Who Is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. 18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.” 19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
About time, now we are starting to get to the good stuff. We’re going to talk about the ‘Two Witnesses’.
Now who are these two ‘witnesses’? For those of you who have done your own research I am sure that you have run across a lot of different teachings. Some of the people that have been bantered about are; Moses, Elijah, Enoch, John The Baptist, Joshua the High Priest and Zerubbabel the Prince to name a few of the most talked about ones.
Well, you may be in for quite a surprise. I do not believe after reviewing all the Scripture that any of the ones I just listed will be the ‘Two Witnesses’. In a little while I will tell you who I think they are, so stay with us.
Some of you who have been following along with us in our study of the book of Revelation might be considering that chapter 11 seems to be out of place. It somehow does not seem to properly go after chapter 10. I strongly believe that there is a logical reason for why the content of chapter 11 follows chapter 10. The strong angel announced the end of God’s "delay" in punishing the living earth-dwellers responsible for the death of His faithful followers. We were told the "what," but not the "why." Why ‘is the end of God’s "delay"’ suddenly and dramatically announced following the sixth trumpet, just before the seventh trumpet sounds?
Chapter 11 will explain that the announcement of God’s suspension of His "delay" is neither sudden nor unexpected. In fact, it comes at God’s precisely intended point in the sequence of end-time events. In step with the rest of the NT, the sequence of the end time events in the Revelation is known, but the exact timing when these events will occur is not known. Therefore, chapter 10 is a critical chronological marker. In addition, chapter 11 will explain why John must prophesy against nations, tongues, peoples and kings.
It is significant that these events take place within the second ‘woe’ when wholesale death pervades the Middle East. They describe God’s final plea to both physical Israel and those of the nations in Jerusalem to turn to Him in the final days of the age, a plea which meets with at least partial success. John knows that before the end God will show special concern for His rejected people Israel as the times of the Gentiles come to a close.
From our study of verses 1 and 2 we see that the Jewish people rebuild the altar and a Temple. However, there will not be a Temple complex. If you go back to the book of Ezra when the Jews came back from Babylon the first thing they set up was an altar. That was it. In the book of Haggai you read about the prophet’s encouragement for the people to rebuild a Temple.
We read that the Gentiles will overrun Jerusalem ‘For forty two months’. It should be noted that John gives the time in months when dealing with the enemies of God and in days when dealing with the people of God. Thus months are used in Revelation 9.5, 10; 11.2; 13.5 while days are used in 2.10; 11.3, 9, 11; 12.6. The forty two months are the same as the 1260 days, taking 30 days to the month, a regular approximation used in ancient days. ‘A time and times and half a time’ means a similar thing here (12.14). The reason for the difference in usage is to emphasize that God watches over His own day by day.
Three and a half years is looked on in Scripture as a period of trial and testing under the protection of God. Elijah the prophet prayed for God to withhold rain and this occurred for three years as we read in the book of 1 Kings 18.1 with 17.1 which, following the six months of dry weather preceding the drought (the Mediterranean summer) brought it to three years and six months. The New Testament interprets this as a period of ‘three years and six months’. So, three and a half years had early come to signify a time of judgment, persecution and want. During this period Elijah was guided by God to places where he would be provided for.
If you look at the news today you can know that Israel is not a place you want to go. The terrorists have shielded this little nation and caused tourism to decrease to a trickle. Years ago I did have the pleasure of going there and checking out a lot of sites. One site of interest was the Jewish Temple museum in Jerusalem. We were blessed to have a group session with the Director of the museum. He showed us that they have all the items necessary to furnish a new Temple. They have found ancestors of the tribe of Levi to serve as priests. What we had just seen the Director informed us was that a Temple could be up and running within a month. All that is needed is permission to start.
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
The statement ‘They will prophesy’ explains the two witnesses' ministry. The two witnesses are specially called prophets in verse 10. These prophets will function as Old Testament prophets functioned. They will speak for God to the people and judge those who refuse to obey. Over the period (three and a half years) when the Holy City is trodden down by the Gentiles ‘two witnesses’ will arise to testify on God’s behalf. Please note that they arrive without introduction.
The ministry and death of the two Jewish witnesses is another example and reason for John’s prophetic ministry against peoples, nations, tongues and kings. Specifically, the abuse the two Jewish witnesses will experience justifies God’s wrath against the living earth-dwellers (peoples, nations, tongues, and kings
The word ‘Authority’ it is not in the original text. The translators have added it to give the reader a sense of what John intended. John indicates his audience’s familiarity with the witnesses, not their specific names and identity, but their specific roles.
As mentioned earlier there have been some wild and unnecessary speculations about the identity of these two witnesses have filled many pages. Enoch and Elijah are by far the leaders in this theological guessing game. It says in the bible that is accounted for all men to die. Both Enoch and Elijah did not die as you know our Holy Master took them alive to Heaven. However, given the fact that both of the Two Witnesses are murdered and savagely treated, it is highly unlikely that the two witnesses are historical figures from Israel’s past who our Holy Lord has saved just to send back to earth to be brutally killed. In fact as you know Elijah and Moses already did come back. Remember, that they were the ones who were with our Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.
This is why some teachers try to link the 2 witnesses as Moses and Elijah. Equally, given that these two witnesses are murdered, it is extremely unlike God to send back to earth faithful giants like Moses, Elijah, Enoch or any other great figure from the OT only to have them murdered in the streets of Jerusalem. Another point that argues against past historical figures, particular Elijah, concerns the ministry of the two witnesses.
The ministry of Elijah is specifically defined. Malachi 4:5-6 states, ‘Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.
As we are reading in the book of Revelation our Holy God Is striking the earth with great disasters. There are no more periods of mercy and grace given to the earth dwellers.
What exactly is Malachi predicting here? The Lord Jesus helps us understand the meaning of this text. He states in Matthew 17:11, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things…." Literally, "Indeed, Elijah is coming and he will restore all things." This demands that John the Baptist was in a figurative sense, Elijah. The point about ‘restoring all things’ refers to how our Great Lord and Savior restored again our right to come to the Father. The curtain in the Temple restricting access was torn from the top to the bottom. Thank you Lord Jesus.
Then the next verse of chapter 11 has people guessing that the Two Witnesses must be Joshua the High Priest and Zerubbabel the Prince.
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
The two olive trees appear in Zechariah 4.3 and are ‘the sons of oil (anointed ones) who stand by the Lord of the whole earth’ (4.14). There they refer to Joshua the High Priest and Zerubbabel the Prince, both anointed for their roles in accordance with the laws of Israel. So here are two similar leaders set apart by God as His servants in a time of crisis.
Joshua had his filthy garments removed and was clothed with rich apparel and had a fair turban set on his head as indicated in the book of Zechariah 3.3-5. This turban is described in Exodus 28.36-38. It bears the words ‘holy to the Lord’ on a plate of gold and means that the High Priest is, especially through the sacrificial system, bearing the iniquity of the people in such a way as ensures the acceptability of their gifts and offerings
Zerubbabel is the one who will prevail ‘not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord’ as the prophet Zechariah informs us in chapter 4.6. He has laid the foundations of the house of the Lord and he will finish it because he has the Holy Spirit to assure its completion.
They are thus two selected men of God whose purpose is to establish the house of God as a witness to the nations.
The imagery in Zechariah is remarkably similar to imagery in Revelation, where what is applied to the individuals in Zechariah is applied to all the redeemed. In Revelation the redeemed washed their garments and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (7.14), compared with the removal of Joshua’s filthy apparel, and the over comer will receive a crown (2.10) similarly to Joshua, and will be arrayed in white garments (3.5). In Revelation white always replaces the jeweled splendor of the Old Testament. Wisdom and virtue are seen as far above rubies. Thus the robes are white and the stone containing the name is white.
So Joshua is a ‘type’ of the redeemed. Furthermore, as the New Testament constantly makes clear, it is the redeemed who receive the power of the Spirit.
Taking this information to heart and mind we thus see the Two Witnesses in Revelation as two representatives of the people of God in Jerusalem, yet representing in themselves the whole church, whose responsibility it is to establish the sanctuary of God (the church of Christ) as a witness to Jerusalem and to the nations.
The witnesses are also ‘two lamp stands’. In Revelation 1 the seven lamp stands represent the seven churches, which speak of the complete church. In Zechariah 4 the sevenfold lamp stand represents the God of Israel feeding the two sons of oil and also Israel with its function to rebuild the Temple, again as a witness to the world. The Temple has been rebuilt and the Two Witnesses prophecy for the last 3 and one half years before our Lord’s 2nd Coming.
The lamp stands therefore represent the whole true people of God. So the two witnesses stand at the forefront as fulfilling the witness of the church and of true Israel. That the two witnesses can be both leaders of the church and the whole church compares with how Daniel could speak of kings while including in the word the nations that lay behind the kings.
‘I ‘WILL GIVE’ to my two witnesses’ - this remarkable change of expression from ‘it was given’ emphasize God’s deep personal concern for His witnesses. Again and again in Revelation we have seen the term ‘there was given’. To these two witnesses God gives directly. God Is actively involved. This brings out the vital nature of their ministry. And what will He give? He will provide them with all that they need to complete their task, including the Spirit’s power [as He did with Zerubbabel].
Please note why there will be ‘Two witnesses’. We learn in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 19.15 that the testimony of two witnesses was required before a legal verdict could be given. These witnesses therefore are symbolic of a satisfactory and complete witness. Mankind cannot blame God for not warning them of the destruction that is about to happen to the world.
So the ‘two witnesses’ here are all those who bear testimony to God and bear witness against the sins of men, especially as represented by two effective leaders or ‘prophets’ (verse 10).
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
If anyone wants to harm them is curious to say the least. Why would anyone want to harm them? To harm means to hurt or to harm, with the implication of doing something that is wrong and undeserved. This is what we Christians currently have to deal with also. You try to share the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ and you get many times hostile responses.
So the church and its leaders will give its testimony in these final days in the face of persecution and will suffer opposition and tribulation. John is again seeking to bolster up the church in the face of tribulation to come.
These Two Witnesses will be easy to spot. They will be ‘Clothed in sackcloth’. This was the rough garment of hair associated with prophets. It also signified grief and distress.
Remember the king of Nineveh has everyone put on sackcloth – even the animals. Also, remember when David sinned by taking the census, he clothed himself and the people in sackcloth when he was seeking to divert God’s judgment
Thus it denotes humility, earnestness in prayer and grief over sin. These witnesses through physically wearing sackcloth, are examples of humility, earnestness in prayer and grief over sin.
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.
The fact that John emphasizes by restatement, "if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way," argues strongly for a literal interpretation here. In the tradition of the Old Testament, particularly Elijah, the miraculous use of literal fire in judgment has precedent. In addition, John describes the death of the enemies of the two witnesses as devouring. Incineration by fire would be an effective means of disposing of your enemies.
So we are told that the words of these witnesses will be effective and powerful against those who oppose them.
Please notice how the statement ‘If any man desires to hurt them, is repeated. The first is actual, the second prospective. These two individuals are continually preserved by God. I believe the point to be made is that both prophets succeed with their assignment against all odds.
6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
It is not said that they do this. These examples are given to demonstrate that these witnesses are prophets in the mould of Elijah and Moses, and if necessary can call on similar powers. It was Elijah who prayed and shut the heavens. It was Moses who turned water into blood and smote the earth with plagues.
These have the power to shut up the sky is the first of three prerogatives of the two witnesses. Power is better translated authority. This prerogative is assigned to both witnesses. While Elijah is typically pictured, as the one shutting up the heavens, both witnesses will have this authority. Interestingly, Elijah did in fact shut the heavens of rain for three and a half years during his earthly ministry
So that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying is the result of a shut up sky. "Rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying" is a severe judgment. The fact that Israel experienced a three and a half-year period without rain means it is possible to survive, but with great difficulty. Water will be an expensive commodity. Given the trumpet and bowl judgments that deal with salt and fresh water sources, it is clear that the two witnesses will limit their influence to specific geographical areas—Jerusalem and its environs will be one of them.
They have power [authority] over waters to turn them into blood is the second prerogative of the witnesses. Not only will they stop the rain from heaven, but they will also ruin water sources on earth. Turning water into blood is reminiscent of the prophet Moses. However, both witnesses will have this prerogative.
[They have authority] to strike the earth with every plague defines the third prerogative of this group. They both have this ability. The witnesses have an unlimited range of possible plagues; are unlimited as to how many times they strike; and the total earth surface can be their victim. This does not bode well for the world.
As often as they desire indicates that God has given these witnesses the choice concerning how often they strike. This indicates a tremendous amount of trust on God’s part in these witnesses.
James points this out in his letter when he states firmly that the church is powerful through prayer. ‘The supplication of a righteous man avails greatly in its working’, he says, and gives this very example of the withholding of rain by Elijah. The early church was not as afraid of such miracles as we are. Thus there is no difficulty in John seeing a future church in Jerusalem effectively having such powers available for use, especially through their anointed leaders, and possibly although not necessarily using them.
However, it is noteworthy that there have been rare times when miracles of one sort or another have abounded. The time of Moses was one, the time of Elijah and Elisha another and the time of our Lord Jesus and His apostles a third. Miracles do not just happen at random. So these words in Revelation may suggest that in the end days the same will apply. But even then they will not be at random. The witnesses will not misuse their powers. They will only use them as God commands. Unlike the beast, their aim is not wholesale slaughter.
So, as I said in the beginning of this study I would tell you who I think the Two Witnesses are. I believe that these two are newly selected men Who God chooses and anoints. As pointed out, those who are still around will know them by their works.
7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
In chapter 13 we will read of two contrasting Beasts, the one who arises from the sea [ The Antichrist ] (13.1), and the one, an earthly empire arising from the nations, [ The False Prophet ].We will note in later chapters that Satan or the dragon is not either of these two beasts. In chapter 13 they are called the Antichrist and The False Prophet. I will tell you who these beasts really are when we get to chapter 13. So, you are going to have to wait with baited breath until we get to this chapter. Hey, we are on chapter 11. Chapter 13 isn’t that far away. Here we see the Beast from the abyss.
But he has to stand by until they have finished their testimony. Until their work is done these witnesses are protected. Then, he ‘makes war with them’, ‘overcomes’ the over comers, and kills them. The word ‘overcome’ is unique. This is the outward appearance. But they are not really overcome, only killed. They have in fact themselves overcome in the only sense that matters at all. The divine preservation of the ‘two witnesses’ does indicate that God will keep alive the witness of His church and their leaders until their witness is complete.
8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Sodom is the first clue to why this is the great city. Destroyed by God for gross immorality, Sodom became a by-word for wickedness. It is always depicted as a city destroyed by God because of its wickedness
Egypt is the second clue to why this is the great city. Egypt is not a city, but a state. However, it is what the state represents that is the point of comparison. Egypt is depicted in Scripture as a symbol of slavery and idolatry. Both Sodom and Egypt were destroyed by God because of their wickedness.
Here the city in mind is clearly identified as Jerusalem. It is the place where the Lord was crucified. John could not have made it plainer. It is a clear indication of how God sees Jerusalem at this point. He sees it as a place of sexual perversion and of idolatry and worldly aggrandizement, the very sins God had especially warned the seven churches against in readiness for this day. The people were guilty of following the ways of the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan which our Holy God taught us in the book of Leviticus 18.3. They were in direct disobedience to God,
They prefer idolatry and the luxuries of Egypt to the Lord’s provision, for they honor the Beast who demands the one which chapter 13. Verses 4 and 12 points out and provides the other as understood in chapter 13.17.
After the Beast murders them then ‘Their dead bodies lie in the street’. No one is permitted to bury them. They are exposed to total shame just as our Holy Lord Jesus Christ was. Psalm 79.1-4 is illustrative of this episode and is probably in John’s mind. ‘Oh God, the nations are come to your inheritance, your holy sanctuary have they defiled. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. The dead bodies of your servants they have given to be food to the fowls of heaven, the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth --- there was none to bury them. We are become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those who are round about us’.
It is probable we are to see here the last remnants of the church in Jerusalem. One by one they have been hunted down, but these, with their two prophets, had been preserved for the task they were given. Now they too have been put to death.
9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.
These ‘peoples and tribes and languages and nations’ are in direct and deliberate contrast with the redeemed from every tribe, tongue, people and nation (5.9), and the faithful servants of Christ out of every nation, and of all tribes and peoples and tongues (7.9) who come from the same source. They thus have no excuse, for their compatriots have responded to Christ. It was to them that John was to prophesy (10.11). Their behavior is inhumane and abominable, and is shown to be even worse in the next verse, but there is no limit on man’s behavior when he seeks revenge on those who make him feel uncomfortable.
When he speaks of many peoples and nations John may have thought in terms of people gathering to Jerusalem for the feasts, or he may have had in mind the armies of the nations who were treading it down. But he intends us to see Jerusalem as a microcosm of the whole earth, just as the church in Jerusalem is the microcosm of the whole church. (He could never have dreamed of television and computers and things yet to be invented). The three and a half days clearly parallels the three and a half years. God allows the crowds to enjoy, a day of shame for every year of the ministry they have rejected. That is all they have.
10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
Those whose hearts are on earthly things, the earth dwellers, throw parties and celebrate. At last they are free of these men who had made them feel so guilty, who had tormented their consciences. They happily send gifts to each other compare to demonstrate their relief. Their ‘tormentors’ have been dealt with. The world hates having its conscience tormented by the people of God. So they celebrate their triumph. But as Job reminds us in chapter 20.5, ‘the triumphing of the wicked is short’.
Because the Two Prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth is the directly stated reason for the response of the wicked earth-dwellers. Notice that they are now called prophets. They have declared the will of God. They have also unleashed plagues and punishments upon the wicked earth-dwellers. Nothing brings the wrath of the world more than plagues and preaching. Whoever would do either must be fully prepared to suffer!
11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
Then something amazing happens. ‘The breath of life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet’. All the partying immediately ceases. The impossible has happened. The dead bodies have come alive again. But only to be carried up into Heaven in a cloud as our Lord Jesus Was in His ascension that the book of Acts 1.9 teaches.
For all those who love the theory of‘Rapture’ then this is it. For we read in the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, “13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Our Holy Lord Jesus has come for His own. John was allowed up into heaven temporarily (4.1), their entry is permanent. There is great stress on the fact that what is described is what was seen by the spectators, and we are made aware of the awe that it produced.
This is not a separate rapture. John is encapsulating what is happening to the whole church in terms of what happens to the church in Jerusalem. Around the world similar things are happening. Paul describes it differently. ‘The Lord himself will descend from Heaven with a shout (‘come up hither’), with the voice of the Archangel, and the trump of God. And indeed the last trumpet now sounds (verse 15)). And the dead in Christ will rise first. (This is pictured in the raising of these witnesses). Then we who are alive and remain will together with them be caught up in the clouds (the witnesses are carried up in a cloud) to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord’. But all this is not made known to the watchers. They see only what is before them. In other cities similar things will be experienced.
13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
In that hour speaks to the immediate judgment of God that followed the witnesses’ accession to heaven
Now that God’s people have been taken up the world faces the judgment of God. There will be delay no longer. The immediate effect of this is the great earthquake, in which God takes His tithe of one tenth of the city, the first fruits for judgment. And seven thousand people die. This latter number parallels the number of the remnant in the time of Elijah which we learn in the book of 1 Kings 19.18. There our Great and Holy Father God pointed out to his prophet that He had 7000 believers who remained true to Him.
Thus this ‘seven thousand’ is a reminder of the remnant whom they have been attacking. God’s remnant has been put to death by the people of Jerusalem, now God claims a life for a life.
The remainder, in fear, ‘gives glory to the God of Heaven’. It is doubtful if this is the language of conversion. Rather in what they face they have to acknowledge God’s remote greatness but their hearts are still far from Him. It is not a response of faith. Compare how in Revelation chapter 16.10 men blaspheme the God of Heaven. The title is used of man’s instinctive reaction to God as the unknown. Jerusalem is a religious city, which explains the differing response, to what occurs, but that does not necessarily go far enough. Submission to Christ is required and they have rejected the testimony of the witnesses.
This verse clearly teaches that while all rejoiced and glorified, not all believed. Thus, it is possible for an unbeliever to speak the truth with those who believe in the God of truth. Equally, while those who are converted do "give God glory," it not the same to say that everyone who gives God glory is saved. It is one thing to recognize God’s power and abilities and to audibly express it, but it something altogether different to suggest the mere act proves conversion.
The wicked earth-dwellers in Jerusalem express the obvious, but there is no indication of repentance. There is no calling upon the name of Jesus for forgiveness. To give God glory can be nothing more than the mere recognition of God’s sovereignty over heaven and earth. This is exactly the meaning of this phrase in 1 Samuel 6:5. The priests and diviners of the Philistines command the capturers of the Ark to acknowledge God’s sovereignty [give glory to the God of Israel] by sending the Ark home. The Philistines (in context) are clearly unbelievers, both before and after the experience with the Ark. This is the meaning of Revelation 16:9 where the living wicked earth-dwellers refuse to repent and give God glory (recognize his sovereignty) as sovereign of heaven and earth. It renders the wicked without excuse. They consciously chose to worship the creature rather than the creator.
14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly
In Revelation 22.7, 12, 20 it is our Lord Christ Who ‘comes quickly’, and we find here that the same applies to the third woe. For that final woe for mankind is indeed the arrival of the Judge of all the earth, as Heaven now declares (verse 18). While it is a joy for the people of God, for those who dwell on earth it is the final woe, and they can only plead to the mountains and the rocks to hide them from the wrath of Him Who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb (6.16).
It is clear that the ministry of the two prophetic witnesses is presented in summary fashion. The emphasis is a focus on the termination rather than the beginning of their ministry. Therefore, it is our contention that the ministry of the two prophetic witnesses begins before the trumpet judgments, but terminates with the sixth trumpet. Consequently, the ministry of the two prophetic witnesses runs concurrent with the time of the dragon-empowered-beast that comes from the sea. The purpose of the strategic placement of Revelation 10:1-11:13 is clear. The termination of the mystery of God and the ministry of the two prophetic witnesses set in motion the final display of God’s wrath against the living wicked earth-dwellers. With the death of the two witnesses, God’s promise to the fifth seal martyrs that with the completion of the death of those who were to be killed, He would avenge and punish the living wicked earth-dwellers is vindicated.
The third woe is coming quickly is significant for the debate about immanency. The only way one may designate that the third woe is imminent is the second woe must have been initiated. Our Lord Jesus indicated that His return is imminent only after a season of unparalleled suffering has been initiated.
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ is none other than God’s reclamation of the earth. God Almighty and His Christ are now in complete physical control of the earth. Physical, in the sense that God and His Christ are physically manifested on the earth and are in the process of removing all that is unlike Themselves—the Gospel of the Kingdom fulfilled. Heaven has already been cleansed through the war of Michael and his angels The gospel of the kingdom of God is in its final phase of clean up. It will be complete when Satan and his forces are locked away for one thousand years in the abyss. The end of the end of the age is in view. This by definition means that Satan is no longer the god of this world. He will be defeated, arrested, bound and imprisoned for a millennium.
Has become is past tense and suggests that this is a done deal. However, some scholars argue that this is an example of prophetic perfect; i.e. something stated as completed, but still future. That is, the loud voices are so certain that this will happen that they state it as if it has already happened. However, this conclusion is unnecessary. It grows out of a failure to understand the sequence of end-time events and the chronology of the book of Revelation. This is merely the announcement that God has publicly reclaimed his rightful rule over the earth. However, God is still in the process of cleansing the earth of the living wicked earth-dwellers and their satanic leaders, which is the result of the bowl judgments.
Our Lord and of His Christ is not an unusual way to refer to God the Father and His Anointed. This is an allusion to Psalms 2:2, which will control the content of this section--Revelation 11:15-18. The temporal kingdom of Christ (the millennium) has not begun at this point. Therefore, Christ Who will rule during the temporal kingdom Is subordinate to the Father. Since God the Father Is invisible and will never manifest Himself in physical form, God the Son will act as visible King on the earth.
Thus is declared the final hour. This is the seventh and last trumpet. All believers are resurrected, the king is crowned and will now immediately exert His authority and judge the world. ‘The kingdom of the world’ is now His. The kings of the earth, and the rulers, took counsel against the Lord and against His Christ (anointed one)’ (Psalm 2.2). But God could only laugh at their puny efforts (Psalm 2.4) and now He will ‘speak to them in His wrath and vex them with His sore displeasure’ (Psalm 2.5), having set His king on His holy hill of Zion (2.6). The Lord now ‘sits as king forever, He has prepared his throne for judgment’ (Psalm 8.7).
The resurrection has been seen from earth’s point of view, now it is declared from Heaven’s point of view. The third woe is declared, the trumpet sounds, the dead are raised and the church is resurrected or changed in the twinkling of an eye, an example of which we have seen, and then, in that hour, the third woe actually comes, the judgment, which is carried out on those who dwell on earth. Then they will weep and gnash their teeth for they can no longer hide from His face.
16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One Who Is and Who was and Who Is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
When God reclaims the earth as His sovereign domain, some very important events find their fulfillment.
. ‘We give you thanks’ is prayer of thanksgiving. This prayer is directed to the Lord God, which indicates God The Father. He (God the Father) Is pantokrator (almighty). As the Almighty nothing could, can or will stop Him. He Is sovereign.
‘. Because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign’ indicates the reason for the prayer of thanksgiving. It is an accomplished fact. It is not that God has not always had the power. Rather, He at this point has determined to use it. Have begun to reign also suggests a past act. However, the emphasis is ingressive. That is, God the Father has taken his great power and just started to reign. This confirms the pronouncement of the loud voices in heaven that "the kingdom of the world has just become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ."
We note that there is no longer a mention of ‘is to come’ (1.8; 4.8) for He has come, and it is now the end of time. He has taken His great power and enforced His reign. He has of course previously been reigning in Heaven and in the hearts of His people. Now His reign over mankind as a whole is enforced, expressed in His final acts of judgment. The twenty four elders may well worship. Their task is complete and the redeemed church is in Heaven.
18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.”
‘And the nations were enraged’ is the first reaction to God’s reclamation of the earth by those on the earth. Ta ethna (the nations) refers to the Gentiles. Israel would not be involved because the kingdom of God is their temporal hope. Psalm 2:1-2 speaks of an enraged response from the nations when God enthrones His Son as king of the nations. The reason the nations are enraged is that Jesus’ lordship demands submission and recognition of His sovereignty which the nations reject (Rev 16:9).
‘Your wrath came’ is God’s response to the rage of the nations. Their failure to submit to God results in their destruction. God’s wrath is expressed in the bowl judgments (Rev 15:1).
‘The time came for the dead to be judged’ is the second of four events that follow God’s reclamation of the earth. The verb came is understood. Scholars recognize a difficulty with the judgment of the dead at this point in the sequence of the Revelation. The dead can refer to the righteous dead, the wicked dead or both. Since God is not through with his judgment of the living wicked earth-dwellers, it hardly seems proper to judge the wicked dead at this point. Particularly, given that more wicked-dead will follow and a judgment will follow the 1000-year kingdom. This judgment involves the righteous dead only. An event necessary before the Lord of lords returns at Armageddon with His armies.
‘And the time to reward Your bond-servants’ requires extra thought. The better interpretation at this point is, "and the time came for the dead to be judged, even Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints, namely those who fear Your name, the small and the great…" To judge the righteous dead means the same thing as to reward God’s bond-servants. Misthos (reward) refers to the payment one is due based on prior work. Scripture promises the faithful rewards. Ultimate on the list of rewards, is the right to reign with Christ.
‘The time came to destroy those who destroy the earth’ is the final event introduced by John that occurs immediately after God Almighty takes back His rightful rule over the earth. The verb to destroy in the Greek literally means "to cause the complete destruction of someone or something — ‘to destroy utterly" The object of this utter destruction is "those who destroy the earth." The sense is those who morally ruin the earth. God will physically destroy those who have bankrupted the people. This is the expressed purpose of the bowl judgments, which constitutes the third "woe." The primary party guilty of morally ruining the earth is the "great harlot" of Revelation 17-18.
19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail
Nothing is secret any longer. Heaven is opened and made known to earth. The Ark of the Covenant represents the throne of God, set between the cherubim, where God had taken His power and reigns, and within it is His covenant with His people and the world, which include the Ten Commandments by which the world will be judged. To His own the sight is one of great joy. To His enemies it is one of great fear. Now indeed will they cry ‘hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath has come, and who will be able to stand?’ (6.16-17). Just as the first vision of judgment (the seven seals) ended with the coming of Christ at the end of chapter 6, so the second vision of judgment ends with the coming of Christ here.
‘And there followed lightnings and voices and thunders and an earthquake and great hail’. This refrain, which signals great events about to take place, is constantly repeated and constantly grows. In 8.5 the earthquake was added (and is repeated in 16.18). Now is further added the great hail. The earthquake took the tenth part (11.13) now the great hail will take the rest. It is a symbol of judgment, sweeping away ‘the refuge of lies’, and of the approach of God). The great hail is also described as taking place at the end of the seven bowls (or vials) (16.21), demonstrating that the seven bowls do not follow chronologically but end also at this point. It is part of the approach of the King as he comes to bring the world to judgment.
